Abstract: Asynchronous online discussions are an accepted part of the design of online courses. In many online discussions students are allowed to enter the discussion after reading the discussions already posted by other students.  This allows students to expand upon or add to the discussion.  In many instances this also allows students to consciously or subconsciously borrow from or copy the ideas of other students when forming their own discussions.  In this study the originality of discussion posts are compared between two scenarios.  In the first scenario, students can view other students’ discussion posts prior to adding their own.  In the second scenario, students cannot view other students’ discussion posts until he/she formulates his/her answer to the discussion question and posts it in the online discussion forum.  Of interest is the originality of the discussion posts between the two scenarios and how much students are borrowing ideas from other students.